Heel structure



July 24, 1962 B. SLOSBERG 3,045,366

HEEL STRUCTURE Filed May 23, 1960 HTToR ETS 3,045,365 Patented July 24, 1962 3,045,366 HEEL STRUCTURE Benjamin L. Slosberg, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Missouri Wood Heel Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed May 23, 1960, Ser. No. 31,162 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-24.5)

The present invention {relates to a heel structure, particularly to the structure of a heel seat so that a novel manner of attaching the heel to a shoe is provided.

The invention has particular utility with the so-called barrel heel or heel of curved cross-section all the way around it throughout its elongated length. In another type of heel wherein the front side of the heel is flattened, the problems to be described for attaching a barrel heel are not present.

On a shoe having a heel with a flattened front surface, the outsole of the shoe is made so that it is continuous from the toe of the shoe across the bottom of the shoe and down the front flattened surface of the heel. That is the accepted way of making such a shoe.

With a barrel heel there is no such flattened front surface on the heel so that the leather outsole cannot be attached to the heel. The present invention is particularly directed toward a manner by which the outsole can be cut short of the heel seat and the barrel heel attached to the shoe in such a way that a continuous line is provided from the bottom of the heel through the top of a heel and blended into the bottom of the outsole. The invention further incorporates the feature of providing a solid bearing surface between the heel seat of the heel and the bottom of the shoe against which the heel seat is seated.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a heel having a heel seat adapted to the attachment of the heel to a shoe wherein the outsole of the shoe has been cut short of the heel seat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel manner of attaching a barrel heel to a shoe so that the external contour of the shoe is not interrupted at the heel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a greater bearing area between the surface of a barrel heel seat and the bottom of a shoe. There are other objects and advantages that will appear.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a heel;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of a heel;

FIGURE 3 is a view in section taken along the lines 3.3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the heel as attached to a typical shoe; and

FIGURE 5 is a view in section along the lines 5--5 of FIGURE 4 with the upper part of the shoe omitted.

The heel 9 comprises a heel seat 10 with a heel cup 11, a top lift receiving bottom wall 12 and a heel body 13 between them. The heel body 13 is generally circular toward the bottom wall 12, although the heel cup 11 of the heel flares out toward the heel seat 10 more in a longitudinal direction than transversely. Even so, the shape of the body portion 13 of the heel is curved from the heel seat 10 to the bottom wall 12. There is a hole 14 through the heel for receiving a pin of a top lift.

As is typical with heels, the heel cup 11 is curved both longitudinally and transversely. The invention includes two notches 1S and 16, each of which has a surface 17 that is substantially planar with the opposing surface 17. The other surface 18 of each notch 15 and 16 is substantially perpendicular to the adjacent surface of the heel seat 10. Therefore, the angle between the surface 17 and the surface 18, when viewed from the side of the heel as in FIGURE 2, is slightly greater than The shoe 20 is formed with an upper portion 21 to which is attached an outsole 22. While in most shoes the outsole extends down across the fiat face of the heel, there is no flat face on the present barrel heel, and the outsole is cut at 23 in a straight line transversely across the sole. The position of the cut 23 is such that the edge defined by the cut will fit against the surface 18 within the notches 15 and 16. Thus, when the heel 9 is attached to the shoe 20, the surface 17 of the notches 15 and 16 will press against the bottom of the outsole 22 and the surface 18 will press against the edge defined by the cut 23. The resulting structure presents the uniform contour of the shoe outlined in the objects of the invention and provides a sturdy attachment of the heel to the shoe.

What is claimed is: V

1. A shoe having a lower surface, an outsole attached to the forward part of the lower surface and a heel attached to the rearward part of the lower surface, the heel having a generally concave, upper surface defining a cup for snugly fitting against the lower surface of the shoe with a heel seat rim about the edge of the cup, the outsole being terminated at a rearward edge that is rearward of the forward edge of the cup of the heel, the maximum depth of the forward edge of the cup being greater than the thickness of the outsole, the heel having a pair of notches at opposite side of the cup, each notch having a rearward surface for abutment against the rearward edge of the outsole and a bottom surface for bearing against the lower surface of the outsole, the bottom surfaces of the notches extending forwardly to the forward surface of the heel and inwardly to the points where the cup is lower than the bottom surfaces of the notches, the part of the cup inward of the notches bearing against the lower surface of the outsole.

2. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the forward edge of the cup is curved with the part between the notches extending forward of the notches, the forward surface of the remainder of the heel also having a generally convex configuration at any horizontal plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,396,801 Winkley Nov. 15, 1921 2,121,172 Lovejoy June 21, 1938 2,133,352 Jannings Oct. 18, 1938 2,165,427 Vigorith et a1. July 11, 1939 2,176,684 Quirk Oct. 17, 1939 2,219,464 Allen et al. Oct. 29, 1940 2,239,818 Hazelton Apr. 29, 1941 

